Lightning Strike in Oregon, August 5, 2003

Name: Lightning Strike in Oregon, August 5, 2003
Start: 2003-08-05T14:40
End: 2003-08-05T14:40
Location: Oregon

August 5, 2003 · NWS PQR · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning struck a tree, and burning embers fell through an open window, starting a fire in both the interior and exterior of the home. Damage was estimated at $150,000.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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Wind
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Fire, smoke and dust
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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $150,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PQR wrote it up.

Lightning struck a tree, and burning embers fell through an open window, starting a fire in both the interior and exterior of the home. Damage was estimated at $150,000.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Portland, OR wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 5, 1:00 PM PST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 5, 1:00 PM PST, 1 hour 40 minutes before

NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
200 PM PDT TUE AUG 5 2003

.SYNOPSIS...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL LIFT NE ACROSS THE NORTHERN PART
OF THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT AS IT WEAKENS.  FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK
A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OFFSHORE...KEEPING A THREAT OF
SHOWERS...MAINLY TO COASTAL AREAS...IN THE FORECAST.

.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...UPPER LEVEL LOW JUST OFF THE SW OREGON COAST EARLY THIS
AFTERNOON IN WATER VAPOR PICTURES.  LOW SHOULD CONTINUE TO MOVE NE
ACROSS THE NW PART OF FORECAST AREA TONIGHT AS IT WEAKENS.  MAIN
CONVECTIVE FOCUS APPEARS TO BE SHIFTING FROM NW OREGON JUST AHEAD OF
THE UPPER LOW CENTER...TO CASCADES WHERE DAYTIME HEATING HAS
DESTABILIZED ATMOSPHERE.  A CONVECTIVE THREAT WILL REMAIN TONIGHT...
ESPECIALLY THIS EVENING BOTH IN THE NE QUADRANT OF THE UPPER LOW
TRACK WHERE DIFFLUENCE IS AT ITS BEST...AND OVER THE CASCADES AND
AREAS IMMEDIATELY TO THE W AS CONVECTION DRIFTS W OFF THE CASCADES.

BEYOND THE SHORT TERM...WILL KEEP A SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDER OVER THE
LANE COUNTY CASCADES WED AFTERNOON AND EVENING AS ANOTHER SHORT WAVE
CURRENTLY DROPPING DOWN THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE LOW...SWINGS AROUND AND
LIFTS NE INTO OREGON.

THU INTO FRI WOBBLY LOW OFFSHORE MAY PUSH SOME SHOWER ACTIVITY
ONSHORE WITH A WEAK SHORTWAVE LIFTING THROUGH THU NIGHT AND EARLY
FRI.  WILL KEEP A CHANCE OF SHOWERS GOING ALONG THE COAST...AND ADD A
CHANCE TO N INTERIOR FOR THU NIGHT AND FRI MORNING.

.LONG TERM...UPPER TROUGH WAVERS OFF THE COAST THROUGH THE EXTENDED
PERIOD...WITH MODELS NOT SHOWING A LOT OF CONTINUITY IN DETAILS.
WILL IN GENERAL KEEP A SMALL CHANCE OF SHOWERS GOING THROUGH EXTENDED
MAINLY FOR AREAS COAST RANGE AND WEST.

AST 311233 PDX 300112 SLE 300111 EUG 3-0111

.PQR...NONE.

Hazardous weather outlook, Aug 5, 4:30 AM PST, 10 hours 10 minutes before

ORZ001>013-WAZ019>023-039-040-061230-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OREGON
530 AM PDT TUE AUG 5 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHWEST OREGON AND SOUTHWEST
WASHINGTON.

.DAY ONE... TODAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME

In the hours before

Local storm report, Aug 5, 10:08 AM PST, 4 hours 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
1108 AM PDT TUE AUG 05 2003

TIME(PDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0800 AM    LEBANON                   OR   LIGHTNING
08/05/03   LINN                           *** 1 INJ *** 8 YEAR OLD
                                          FEMALE STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

MO

The radar

The Portland,OR radar (KRTX), 20 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:38 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Washington

When: August 5, 2:40 PM PST
Where: Washington County, Tigard
Property damage: $150,000
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 45.560, -123.098 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oregon in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Oregon, August 2003

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5374846.